Slings are often included with or used as an accessory to a rifle, shotgun, or any other style of firearm. Generally the sling is attached at one end on or near the forearm or barrel and at the other end to the butt portion of the stock. Each end of the sling attaches to a sling loop that in turn attaches to the firearm with a sling swivel. The sling loop may rotate with respect to sling swivel and to the stock so that the sling loop may remain properly aligned to the direction the sling is pulled.
Slings are a valuable tool for shooters of all types. Among other functions, a sling may be used to tote a gun over a shooter's shoulder. Further, the sling may stabilize the gun as the shooter takes aim. The sling may also be used to carry or drag the shooter and/or their equipment should the shooter be injured or another emergency arise for example in combat. Because sling swivels are used with firearms, the sling swivels should be sturdy enough so that the sling swivel does not break, detach, or otherwise allow the firearm to become disengaged from the sling inadvertently. Nevertheless, it may be desirable that the sling swivel be quickly detachable, so that the sling may be quickly removed from the firearm.
Numerous approaches exist to provide a detachable sling swivel for a firearm. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,480,662 to McKinzie describes a sling swivel that may be inserted into and detachably secured to a base. The sling swivel may be removed or detached from the base by operation of a plunger disposed within the body of the sling swivel. As the user merely operates the plunger to remove or detach the sling swivel from its base, the removal or detachment may be quickly completed without tools. However, the plunger may potentially be exposed to inadvertent operation and the sling swivel may detach as a result.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,454,675 and 5,067,267 to Ives both disclose a quick-detachable sling swivel. Each sling swivel includes a gate or retainer that is shiftable between and open and closed position by operating a spring-biased plunger. The sling swivel may be attached to or detached from a mounting base while the gate or retainer is in the open position and secured to the mounting base with the gate or retainer in the closed position. The spring-biased plunger may include a locking element to prevent the inadvertent operation thereof and resulting detachment of the sling.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,034 to Norris discloses a quick-detachable sling swivel comprising a body and a shift/swing gate mounted on the body by way of an elongated plunger. The gate is adjustable between open and closed positions relative to the body to enable the sling swivel to be alternately mounted, demounted, and secured relative to a sling swivel base. The sling loop of the Norris '034 swivel has a pair of opposed substantially parallel side members and a substantially rectangular cross section, The body and the sling loop are integrally formed of injection molded metal. The Norris '034 patent asserts that this sling swivel may be capable of withstanding at least 500 pounds of pull force.
The present inventors have identified a need for an improved sling swivel.